Rajgira aloo roti: Amaranth flour and potato flat bread: Gluten and Vegan Free: Diabetic Friendly

I had bought a small packet of rajgira flour from Indian store after seeing an episode of pudding made with rajgira by one of the chef in a You Tube Video. Since it is Navarthri, people in north and western part of India do fasting and at that time they won’t any wheat and prefer gluten free grains like Rajgira. Normally cooked with potato, they make puri,(fired flat bread)  roti etc.  They call it vrat  ka khana meaning eaten during fasting. They don’t use any lentils rice, wheat and even regular salt etc. 

However in south India where I am from we don’t do fasting and we prefer eat lentils during Navarathri, and make sundal seasoned with coconut, and curry leaves and mustard seeds.

Rajgira Flour is Amaranth Flour. It is pleasant and nutty in taste. This flour has high level of protein content and fiber as compare to regular cereals like wheat and rice.   According to Bob’s Red  Mill site,

it is used to replace 25 % of flour in the recipes. It's especially high in lysine which is lacking in many grains. They work best when you combined with potato starch or any other non- grain flour.  Yesterday I decide to make Rajgira roti/flat bread for our dinner.  I asked my hubby do you think I need to use potato flour or mashed cooked potato along with rajgira /amaranth. Without addition of potato flour, it can’t be used to make anything. He told me to use mashed cooked potato as in India we don’t have potato flour. Potato alone will taste bland, so decided to add some spices. I added cumin powder and chili powder. I love to add cumin in all possible things. My hubby is okay with that too.  But he is against coriander powder. I used regular salt. As any gluten free flour amaranth flour is sticky too, you need to drench with flour to make the flat bread. If you have tortilla presser, take it out of pantry and use it. I don’t have it. I had only one 200g  ( 1 1/2cup) packet in my hand. I used the entire packet for dough, so while making flat bread I used rice flour. In the end I found out another way to make them flat.  Take a Ziploc bag and brush with oil on side and press the dough with your hand. You can make perfect round, that way you don’t need any flour. It takes about 2 minutes to cook the roti. When it is warm, brush them with oil. They have nutty taste. Yum with a great side. It is really helpful in controlling blood sugar too. I asked my hubby yesterday do you think this amaranth flour roti/flat bread will reduce the blood sugar, as they are calling it one of great gluten free flour. He told me may be, but because it has potato in it I don’t know. To our surprise his morning blood sugar was 92. If he ate anything in the evening or dinner it will show up in next morning blood sugar.  So yes this one is really diabetic friendly. I am always amazed by traditional Indian food, they all have hidden goodness. If folktale tells that this is good means yes it is good. So next time during your whole foods or Indian store visit grab a packet of Rajgira/amaranth flour try this one. Here goes the recipe. First grab your ingredients from pantry In a bowl add rajgira/amaranth flour, salt, cumin, chili powder a tablespoon of coconut oil along with mashed cooked potato and gradually add boiled water to form smooth dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal rounds about a size of lemon and set aside. Take one ball of dough and drench it into bowl of rice flour and spread it with the help of roller.  Use more flour to prevent the flat bread from sticking. You need to have patient at this phase, it won’t form round immediately you need to practice a little bit.  This time tortilla press will came great rescue. Other easy way I found out that take Ziploc and brush the surface with oil and place the dough ball slowly spread it into a circle with your hand. Heat griddle or skillet and carefully place the roti and cook for about 1 minute on each side. When you get brown spots on each side it is cooked well.   Remove from the fire and brush it with oil on both sides.  Enjoy with any spicy curry, pickle and a bowl of yogurt.                                                                  Print recipe Rajgira Aloo Roti/ Amaranth Potato Flat bread Prep Time    10 minutes Cook Time    20 minutes Serves    10 Ingredients: 11/2 Cup/200g Rajgira flour/Amaranth flour 1 /2 cup/ 158 g   Cooked Mashed potato            1/4 teaspoon Cumin powder 1/4 teaspoon  Chili powder    1/2 teaspoon salt( Use rock salt if you are making for Vrat/fasting) 1 tablespoon  coconut  Oil 1/2  cup Boiling water 1/4  cup Rice flour for rolling ( if you have amaranth flour in hand use it) 3 tablespoon Oil ( I used olive oil) Steps: In a bowl add rajgira/amaranth flour, salt, cumin, chili powder a tablespoon of coconut oil  along with mashed cooked potato  and gradually add boiled water to form a  smooth dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal rounds about a size of lemon and set aside. Take one  ball of dough and drench it into bowl of rice flour/ amaranth flour  and spread it with the help of roller.  Use more flour to prevent the flat bread from sticking. You  need to have patient at this phase, it won’t form round immediately you need to practice a little bit. If you have tortilla press  in hand  take and use it now. Other easy way I found out that take Ziploc and brush the surface with oil and place the dough ball slowly spread it into a circle with your hand. Heat griddle or skillet and carefully place the roti and cook for about 1 minute on each side. When you get brown spots on each side it is cooked well.   Remove from the fire and brush it with oil on both sides. Variations: You can use spices of your choice.       I am linking this delicious roti/flat bread to  Gluten free Fridays Food Friends Friday Gallery of Favorites